For much of this 2012 NBA season, most people have already passed the verdict on the lakers. I have heard many people pick out their problem that they have with the lakers. People point to Fisher and say that he is ruining our team. Few pinpoint the blame on Mike Brown and do not like some of his offensive philosophies or substitution methods. I have also heard that Kobe is shooting too much, or Andrew isn't being aggressive at posting up, or Pau is shooting too many jumpers.

What people have not looked at the positive variables that have come out of this season, which by the way, can be potential predictors of how well the lakers perform in the post-season, depending on how well their chemistry is by the time April rolls by.

Let's think about them:

1) Great defense- the lakers have had only 5 games where the opponents scored 100 or more points.

What an amazing effort so far into the season. This defense allowed the lakers to stay close throughout difficult games, and win many good ones as well. Defense and hustle wins championships, I would say we are on our way to looking like we are dark horse contenders for the championship.

2) Diversity - If there is anything about this team that I would find particularly different about our past teams is the fact that our diversity has increased as we now have many guys who can contribute in different ways. Bynum can score with 3 defenders on him. Kobe can also score with 2 or 3 guys on him. Pau Gasol has been improving in his play and helping us in any way he can. Troy Murphy has been hot, Steve Blake is back and is making some noise with Andrew "Goodluck" Goudelock. The potential of this team is there, and it can accomplish what it wants to if their cards play our right.

3) We are tough at home - We generally overlook how good this team is because of their current record, at 17-12, but did you know that the lakers are 12-2 at home? Did you know that two of those losses were by a combined total 3 points? lost by one against chicago, and by 2 against indiana. I would say these lakers sure know how to please the home crowd. The trick is to get them to piss off the haters on other teams' bandwagons. As long as we have the experienced Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and other veterans on this team, then this road record, which has slightly improved, can drastically improve.

Post whatever positives you want to note. We shouldn't crucify this team so fast. Notice that the triangle has been in LA for about 10 years, an entire decade. Getting rid of a decade's worth of something is difficult to do. Processes like these take time, and pretty soon, we will see a lakers' squad that will make us proud, as they historically have.

I'd say Pau Gasol has been huge for LA this year. He has really picked up his game as of late and has become our most consistent player. He has 7 straight double doubles and that began on the lengthy road trip. In the last 7 games, he is averaging 18.6 ppg, 14 rpg, 3apg and 1.7 bpg. This is a guy who was basically traded pre season and has been involved in just about every trade rumor there is. I credit him being a consummate professional and having a much stronger mentality than I initially thought. This is a player who got the Lakers over the hump to get the Lakers 2 titles. I love what Pau is bringing to the floor right now. He is all business.

I'd say Pau Gasol has been huge for LA this year. He has really picked up his game as of late and has become our most consistent player. He has 7 straight double doubles and that began on the lengthy road trip. In the last 7 games, he is averaging 18.6 ppg, 14 rpg, 3apg and 1.7 bpg. This is a guy who was basically traded pre season and has been involved in just about every trade rumor there is. I credit him being a consummate professional and having a much stronger mentality than I initially thought. This is a player who got the Lakers over the hump to get the Lakers 2 titles. I love what Pau is bringing to the floor right now. He is all business.

Fans say Pau is soft. He's not soft at all. You don't play as many minutes and as many games as he does and consistently put up good numbers night after night season after season being soft.

For much of this 2012 NBA season, most people have already passed the verdict on the lakers. I have heard many people pick out their problem that they have with the lakers. People point to Fisher and say that he is ruining our team. Few pinpoint the blame on Mike Brown and do not like some of his offensive philosophies or substitution methods. I have also heard that Kobe is shooting too much, or Andrew isn't being aggressive at posting up, or Pau is shooting too many jumpers.

What people have not looked at the positive variables that have come out of this season, which by the way, can be potential predictors of how well the lakers perform in the post-season, depending on how well their chemistry is by the time April rolls by.

Let's think about them:

1) Great defense- the lakers have had only 5 games where the opponents scored 100 or more points.

What an amazing effort so far into the season. This defense allowed the lakers to stay close throughout difficult games, and win many good ones as well. Defense and hustle wins championships, I would say we are on our way to looking like we are dark horse contenders for the championship.

2) Diversity - If there is anything about this team that I would find particularly different about our past teams is the fact that our diversity has increased as we now have many guys who can contribute in different ways. Bynum can score with 3 defenders on him. Kobe can also score with 2 or 3 guys on him. Pau Gasol has been improving in his play and helping us in any way he can. Troy Murphy has been hot, Steve Blake is back and is making some noise with Andrew "Goodluck" Goudelock. The potential of this team is there, and it can accomplish what it wants to if their cards play our right.

3) We are tough at home - We generally overlook how good this team is because of their current record, at 17-12, but did you know that the lakers are 12-2 at home? Did you know that two of those losses were by a combined total 3 points? lost by one against chicago, and by 2 against indiana. I would say these lakers sure know how to please the home crowd. The trick is to get them to piss off the haters on other teams' bandwagons. As long as we have the experienced Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and other veterans on this team, then this road record, which has slightly improved, can drastically improve.

Post whatever positives you want to note. We shouldn't crucify this team so fast. Notice that the triangle has been in LA for about 10 years, an entire decade. Getting rid of a decade's worth of something is difficult to do. Processes like these take time, and pretty soon, we will see a lakers' squad that will make us proud, as they historically have.

I'm positive that you are wearing rose colored glasses J/K

Seriously, I am positive that the FO will make the necessary changes to our roster THIS SEASON to allow us to contend for the title.

I'd say Pau Gasol has been huge for LA this year. He has really picked up his game as of late and has become our most consistent player. He has 7 straight double doubles and that began on the lengthy road trip. In the last 7 games, he is averaging 18.6 ppg, 14 rpg, 3apg and 1.7 bpg. This is a guy who was basically traded pre season and has been involved in just about every trade rumor there is. I credit him being a consummate professional and having a much stronger mentality than I initially thought. This is a player who got the Lakers over the hump to get the Lakers 2 titles. I love what Pau is bringing to the floor right now. He is all business.

Wow, I didnt catch that. 7 straight double doubles on 14 rebounds eh? Almost two blocks. Not bad. His great play is going to be necessary over the course of the season.

I was all for him being gone, but after he'd improved lately, I have calmed down, and actually got a little happy with him. As long as he is trying the way he is now, he always will have a place on this team.

Wow, I didnt catch that. 7 straight double doubles on 14 rebounds eh? Almost two blocks. Not bad. His great play is going to be necessary over the course of the season.

I was all for him being gone, but after he'd improved lately, I have calmed down, and actually got a little happy with him. As long as he is trying the way he is now, he always will have a place on this team.

And he is doing it next to a guy who averaged 13.7 rpg over the same span of games. Bynum also averaged 2.6 bpg. While it was a relatively unsuccessful road trip, it certainly was a tough one. I love our twin towers but man our pg situation is really hurting us. I really hope we can snag a quality pg without losing our 2 bigs bc I really think come playoff time, we will have a huge edge against most teams. Bynum is not the same player he was last year and he will be more improved come playoff time.

For much of this 2012 NBA season, most people have already passed the verdict on the lakers. I have heard many people pick out their problem that they have with the lakers. People point to Fisher and say that he is ruining our team. Few pinpoint the blame on Mike Brown and do not like some of his offensive philosophies or substitution methods. I have also heard that Kobe is shooting too much, or Andrew isn't being aggressive at posting up, or Pau is shooting too many jumpers.

What people have not looked at the positive variables that have come out of this season, which by the way, can be potential predictors of how well the lakers perform in the post-season, depending on how well their chemistry is by the time April rolls by.

Let's think about them:

1) Great defense- the lakers have had only 5 games where the opponents scored 100 or more points.

What an amazing effort so far into the season. This defense allowed the lakers to stay close throughout difficult games, and win many good ones as well. Defense and hustle wins championships, I would say we are on our way to looking like we are dark horse contenders for the championship.

2) Diversity - If there is anything about this team that I would find particularly different about our past teams is the fact that our diversity has increased as we now have many guys who can contribute in different ways. Bynum can score with 3 defenders on him. Kobe can also score with 2 or 3 guys on him. Pau Gasol has been improving in his play and helping us in any way he can. Troy Murphy has been hot, Steve Blake is back and is making some noise with Andrew "Goodluck" Goudelock. The potential of this team is there, and it can accomplish what it wants to if their cards play our right.

3) We are tough at home - We generally overlook how good this team is because of their current record, at 17-12, but did you know that the lakers are 12-2 at home? Did you know that two of those losses were by a combined total 3 points? lost by one against chicago, and by 2 against indiana. I would say these lakers sure know how to please the home crowd. The trick is to get them to piss off the haters on other teams' bandwagons. As long as we have the experienced Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and other veterans on this team, then this road record, which has slightly improved, can drastically improve.

Post whatever positives you want to note. We shouldn't crucify this team so fast. Notice that the triangle has been in LA for about 10 years, an entire decade. Getting rid of a decade's worth of something is difficult to do. Processes like these take time, and pretty soon, we will see a lakers' squad that will make us proud, as they historically have.

I felt they also missed Steve Blake, for what? 13 games? I really think if they decide to stand pat and not trade a player like Steve Blake, that Steve will become a major contributor with his pretty good defense, his passes and his ability to shoot the 3's.

And he is doing it next to a guy who averaged 13.7 rpg over the same span of games. Bynum also averaged 2.6 bpg. While it was a relatively unsuccessful road trip, it certainly was a tough one. I love our twin towers but man our pg situation is really hurting us. I really hope we can snag a quality pg without losing our 2 bigs bc I really think come playoff time, we will have a huge edge against most teams. Bynum is not the same player he was last year and he will be more improved come playoff time.

Im hoping and praying that Bynum's past injuries where just freak ones and not related to his body unable to sustain a full season. I mean, 3 straight years, he seemed always to break down after 40-50 games or so...His rebounding is still high but the past few games, he seems less active and assertive inside.

Im hoping and praying that Bynum's past injuries where just freak ones and not related to his body unable to sustain a full season. I mean, 3 straight years, he seemed always to break down after 40-50 games or so...His rebounding is still high but the past few games, he seems less active and assertive inside.

I wanna add that two of those major injuries came from someone practically bum rushing his knee. I dont think any big man can survive something like that, not just Bynum. He seems to have found a comfortable role on the floor where he knows his limitations.

This team is definitely not as bad as some fans (including me) may have thought. They are already slowly figuring things out and there is a good chance that we may see a big trade soon.

Considering all that... Honestly, I just want to say one thing. There is something missing from this team and I just can't put that something into words. Maybe it's not the Lakers but nba-wide thing that is missing. I just don't have the excitement feeling this season to watch these games. Maybe it's the shortened season or maybe out of shape players coming out of rust? Maybe it's something else entirely, but what I do know is this season is just missing some of that excitement factor that we have been used to last couple seasons.. Maybe if the Lakers can pull Dwight or D-Williams or somebody, a piece of that excitement may be reclaimed but we will see.

Anyone else noticed this? or am I alone on this boat?

I mean there is Linsanity and some trade-talk excitement. Some of the younger teams wrecking out there like Indy or Philly, but overall.. something missing..

This team is definitely not as bad as some fans (including me) may have thought. They are already slowly figuring things out and there is a good chance that we may see a big trade soon.

Considering all that... Honestly, I just want to say one thing. There is something missing from this team and I just can't put that something into words. Maybe it's not the Lakers but nba-wide thing that is missing. I just don't have the excitement feeling this season to watch these games. Maybe it's the shortened season or maybe out of shape players coming out of rust? Maybe it's something else entirely, but what I do know is this season is just missing some of that excitement factor that we have been used to last couple seasons.. Maybe if the Lakers can pull Dwight or D-Williams or somebody, a piece of that excitement may be reclaimed but we will see.

Anyone else noticed this? or am I alone on this boat?

I mean there is Linsanity and some trade-talk excitement. Some of the younger teams wrecking out there like Indy or Philly, but overall.. something missing..

I think I can contribute to this thought process. There are a few things missing. A few ideas come to mind. I will list them:

1) A dominating lakers team - The NBA is so used to having a dominating lakers team. The lakers have the largest fan base in the WORLD, and they also have the largest group of haters. So in all honesty, a great lakers team benefits everyone. For example, a person like me thats supposed to hate the celtics, doesn't really show much hate for them recently because they are not that dominating force to be reckoned with. As they got worse, my hate diminished. Sadly, I enjoy watching their defense now. Its hard to hate someone that doesn't piss you off, does that make sense? There will come a day when the celtics dominate again, and I will hate them once more!

2) A shortened season - By the time the lockout ended, we were already so tired of the story. Everyday we were hearing conflicting reports. At one point they even said that there was no season coming at all. It got so tiring, when they returned, we said "hmm...whatever". It killed our spirits as fans. Now it hurts to watch some of these games as these players are out there looking tired already, and there's still a little more than half a season left to be played.

3) A point guard - We're getting irritated watching other teams' second string point guards dominating. We do have a big three, and a very very good big three. Kobe is still great, Pau is good, and Bynum is emerging still, trying to be great. We wish we were like every other team though

4) The Vetoed CP3 deal - This made me lose my faith that a big corporation like the NBA could be honest, and get business done. I have been upset with this until now simply because next time we're rumored to be trading for someone, there's always going to be that second thought, of "What's Stern going to do this time". I had received Chris Paul with open arms when this trade went through, and it completely sucked every bit of life out of me when I found out it was vetoed.

These 4 things are what make this season bittersweet. I know that once this one passes, we can continue next season with a sense of normality.

They could've actually gotten half of Houston team plus Odom which probably is much better than the team they have right now.

Plus they don't even know if they can resign Gordon now.

Aside that, I think the Lakers are much better than what the record is showing.
Also, the way Lakers win is how teams should win in the playoffs.... with defense and key go-to guys.
The only thing that worries me is that in the playoffs, couple role players are critical and Lakers seriously miss any contribution other than the big 3.

But we still got a month till the trade deadline so we'll see how everything works out.